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如雷貫耳

简如雷贯耳 · 繁如雷貫耳

Mandarin · pinyin rú léi guàn ěr

lit. like thunder piercing the ear
a well-known reputation (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
雷: léi · thunder
貫: Look up this written character
耳: ěr · ear; merely, only; handle; Kangxi radical 128
贯: guàn · a string of 1000 coins; to go through

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–2–4–3 · ru2 lei2 guan4 er3

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5character links1same-tone record

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

如雷貫耳 · find source passages ↗ · 如雷贯耳 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jyu4 leoi4 gun3 ji5

Cantonese word readings for 如雷貫耳. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(literal) to reverberate like thunder
(figurative) to be very famous

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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